Tubular lamp mounting



Feb 17, 1948.

E. DANSEREAU TUBULAR LAMP MOUNTING.

' 2 Sheets-Sheer 1 Filed March 30, 1944 INVENTDR aka/Zea" ED 1786/6 (a /aZZaw M ATTORNEYS Search Room Feb. 17, 1948. c. E. DANSEREAU 2,436,250

TUBULAR LAMP MOUNTING Filed March 50, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ,ZX J r 19- 63 0 E g f gs 74/ /fi i o 46 INVENTOR 6%0/498 fir 00/151918 aw ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 17, 1948 gears TUBULAR LAMP MOUNTING Charles E. Dansereau, Lakewood, R. I., assignor of one-half to Harry M. Burt, Narragansett, and one-half to Guy H. Burt, Cranston, R. 1.

Application March 30, 1944, Serial No. 528,690

6 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a lamp holder of the type more particularly adapted for holding an electric discharge device such as an elongated fluorescent lamp which is supported at each of its ends by a lamp socket by reason of at least one contact extending beyond each of the ends into a recess or slot in the socket.

The instant invention is a continuation-inpart of my copending application for Tubular lamp mounting, Serial No. 469,227, filed December 16, 1942, issued as Patent No. 2,403,968 on July 16, 1946.

In the more common types of lamp holders now on the market the sockets which receive the end contact pins of the lamp are usually fixedly mounted upon some base or support and the lamp is then inserted into slots in the socket and held in position by reason of the offset of the slot or by rotation of the lamp a portion of a turn with the contact pins resting on the wall of the recess or slot so as to prevent these pins of the lamp from being accidentally removed from the socket. It may be said that the positioning of the lamp in the socket is accomplished by movement of the lamp while the sockets remain fixed with reference to the base or support upon which they are attached.

In my improved lamp holder, described in my said co-pending application, the spaced sockets at the opposite ends of a lamp are characterized by their ability to be swung away from each other and from the contact pins of the lamp. Due to this characteristic, the placement of lamps in tandem, with such sockets in back to back relationship, would be limited were it not for the particular construction of the socket which is the subject of this application.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide lamp sockets of the character described which are so constructed that they may be efiectively operated by swinging the same away from lamps when adjacent sockets are placed in proximate or even abutting back to back relationship to hold lamps in tandem.

As will be appreciated from my co-pending application, various socket mountings may be employed to obtain the desired swinging movement of the sockets, and it is a more specific object of my invention to provide lamp sockets of the character described which, regardless of their type of rocking mounting, may be placed in proximate or abutting back to back relationship to hold lamps in tandem.

With these and other objects in view, the in- 2 vention consists of certain novel features of construction, as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. l is a reduced side view of sockets embodying my invention being used to hold lamps in tandem;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal central sectional view through a pair of adjacent back to back sockets in lamp engaging position, the dot and dash lines superimposed on this figure illustrating the disengaged position of one of the sockets;

Fig. 3 is an oflset longitudinal sectional view through a contact of one of the sockets shown in Fig. 2, the dot and dash lines at the right of the figure indicating the outline of an adjacent socket disposed in back to back relationship thereto;

Fig. 4 is a face view of one of the sockets;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view through one of the sockets, taken above the mounting plate;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 2 of a socket embodying my invention, but employing a modified form of socket mounting; and

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 2 of another socket embodying my invention, which employs yet another modified form of socket mounting.

In proceeding with this invention I contemplate some base or support upon which the lamp is to be supported from a pair oi. sockets so mounted on this base or support that each may be swung about a point of pivoting or fulcruming. Resilient means are used for blessing the sockets to a position in which they engage the lamp pins or contacts. More specifically, in this application I contemplate the positioning of lamps in a tandem relation with their ends close together and to effect this purpose in general, pursuant to the several objects of the present invention, I so construct the sockets that they can be placed in proximate, and preferably contacting, back to back relationship. This is achieved by so shaping the back walls of the sockets that (1), essentially, the portions thereof below a line joining the pivot points of adjacent back to back sockets are, in the main, spaced apart in lamp engaging position and will approach each other, and preferably come into contact, when either of the sockets is moved from lamp engaging to lamp disengaging position, and (2), advantageously, portions of the back walls of the sockets above said line are in proximate, and preferably contacting relationship, when in lamp engaging position and will move apart when either one of 3 the sockets is moved from lamp engaging to lamp disengaging position. In addition it is desirable to so construct the sockets that the pivot points thereof can shift slightly toward and away from a lamp so as to facilitate the pivoting action under the circumscribed conditions outlined.

Referring now to the drawings, I have there shown, by way of example, several different means for rockably mounting a socket in position, these various means being claimed as well as fully illustrated and described in my said copending application. In Figs. 1 through in particular, I have shown a socket ll) (Fig. 1) rockably mounted in the manner illustrated in my said above patent. Such mounting includes a plate II (Figs. 2 and 5) overlying a base l8 and fixedly secured to the socket by integral fingers I3 at either edge thereof extending into recesses [4. The mounting plate has a depressed integral tongue II a which a bolt l2 firmly holds against a wall of a recess in the socket. This plate is further provided with elongated openings [5 to receive a pair of bolts is passing through openings IT in said base l8 upon which the socket is mounted. A nut or other abutment member I9 is threaded onto the shank of each bolt. The head of each bolt rests against the under surface of the base, while springs 21, held in compression between washers 22 and 23 on each bolt and in engagement respectively with the plate and nut, serve to bias the socket about the edge 24 of the mounting plate, as a pivot or fulcrum, into the full-line position shown in Figs. 1-3.

In addition to being swung about the fulcrum edge 24, as described above, the socket can be shifted bodily along the base, if necessary, when rocking sockets towards and away from lamp engaging position, this latter characteristic being due to the presence of the elongated openings I5.

Alternatively, the socket may be supported by a mounting plate 25 (Fig. 'I) disposed beneath the base and having an integral coplanar tongue 25a fixedly secured by a bolt l2 to the socket. In this case the openings ll' through the base l8 are elongated in a fashion similar to that of the openings l5 in the mounting plate ll above described. The bolts l6 pass through openings IS in the mounting plate 25 and are each equipped with a nut IS on their shanks 20. The heads of the bolts, however, rest on the under side of the mounting plate 25 instead of the under side of the base ill. The springs 2| are held in compression between the washers 23, which are under the nut l9, and washers 22' over the base l8, as illustrated in Fig. 7. With the socket mounting just described, the fulcrum is at 28, which is the edge of an aperture in the base through which the socket extends, and the outer end of the plate will therefore swing downwardly carrying the heads lBa of the bolts with it when the socket rocks about said fulcrum to govt?! its free end 21 to the right, as viewed from Still another socket mounting is illustrated in Fig. 6. Here the socket 28 has a mounting plate 29 fixedly secured to a base such as l8 and rockably rather than fixedly secured to the socket, just the reverse of the connections between the plate and the base and socket illustrated and described in the two previous instances. The plate 29 extends inwardly into an opening 30 in the socket and has an integral tongue 3| located in an internal socket chamber 32. A bolt 33 passes through a horizontal partition in the '4 socket and through an elongated opening 34 in the tongue 3|. A spring 35, held in compression between a nut 36 at one end of the bolt and the tongue 3|, swingably biasses the socket relative to the plate 29 in such fashion as to urge said socket into contact with the lamp pins.

It will be apparent that the foregoing construction provides a pivotal mounting of the socket on the plate in a manner which creates but little friction opposing relative pivotal movement of the said parts. For convenience this type of mounting will be referred to hereinafter as one which permits free pivotal movement of the socket.

The body portion 40 of each of the sockets is formed from any suitable material into any desired size and shape and preferably is molded from insulating material such as Bakelite into a structure of the form shown. Suitable contacts 4| are located in the body behind lamp pin receiving apertures 42. Each of said apertures has a guiding groove 43 leading thereto. The lamp to be mounted in position is designated 44, and one or more contact pins 45 at each end thereof project through the recesses 42 being directed thereinto by the guide grooves 43.

In order to mount two sockets in back to back relationship, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, I have altered the conventional disposition of the backs of the sockets which have heretofore been located in a plane substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the lamp. This is accomplished in general by inclining or sloping the backs 46 of each of the sockets towards its associated lamp so that either socket, e. g. the socket at the right of Fig. 2, may move from lamp engaging position, illustrated by full lines, to lamp disengaging position, illustrated by dot and dash lines, the angularity of the back being such as to permit the sockets to move to said lamp disengaging position before it abuts the adjacent socket. Said angularity should cover a predominate portion of the back of the socket between the free swinging end thereof and a point approximately in the plane of the mounting plate so that no obstruction will substantially impede the swinging of either bracket with reference to the other.

It will be observed that the foregoing angularity causes the back 36 of the socket to include two portions which, if plane, as shown, form a forwardly facing obtuse angle less than with its apex approximately coplanar with the mounting plate and the upper portion approximately perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the lamp 44. The expression forwardly facing, as used herein, denotes a surface facing a lamp held by a socket.

In the event that, despite the angularity of the backs of the sockets, there is a tendency for the sockets to abut each other, particularly in the vicinity of the apex at the back of the socket, the bodily shifting of the socket and fulcrum will permit the socket to continue to rock until it has reached lamp disengaging position.

It may be mentioned that a socket constructed as hereinabove described can be disposed in proximate or even abutting relationship with a rigid unyielding surface other than the back of an adjacent socket, as, for example, the wall of a room or of a lighting fixture, in which case it still can be swung from lamp engaging to lamp disengaging position by virtue of its uniquely shaped back and/or novel shifting fulcrum.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a Search Room device which achieves the divers objects of this invention and which is well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention and as various changes might be made in the embodiments above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein illustrated and/or described is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense,

Having thus described my invention. I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A lamp socket for mounting on a support member a lamp having at least one contact pin at each end thereof and which socket is adapted to be disposed with its back in proximate relationship to a rigid unyielding surface with the front surface of the socket facing the lamp, said socket having at least one recess to receive a pin at one end of the lamp, said recess extending inwardly of said socket from its front surface, a contact member carried by said socket and disposed so as to engage a pin in said reccss,r neap s tomount said socket for free pivotal movement on said support member so that said recess can be swung toward and away from said pin, and means to resiliently bias said socket toward said lamp, said recess being remote of the axis of pivotal movement of said socket and on the side thereof on which the lamp is disposed, the back surface of the socket being inclined to the vertical, said inclination running from approximately that part of the back surface of the socket closest to said axis of pivotal movement to the tip of the socket remote from said axis and in a direction toward the front surface of the socket, thereby enabling the socket to be swung away from the lamp before such swinging movement of the socket is limited by abutment of the back surface of the socket against said rigid unyielding surface.

2. A lamp socket for mounting on a support member a lamp having at least one contact pin at each end thereof and which socket is adapted to be mounted with its back in proximate relationship to a rigid unyielding surface with the front surface of the socket facing the lamp, said socket having at least one recess to receive a pin at one end of the lamp, said recess extending inwardly of said socket from the front surface thereof, a contact member carried by said socket and disposed so as to engage a pin in said recess, means to mount said socket for free pivotal movement on said support member so that said recess can be swung toward and away from said pin, and means to resiliently bias said socket toward said lamp, said recess being remote of the axis of pivotal movement of said socket and on the side thereof on which the lamp is disposed, a portion of the back surface of the socket being flatly inclined from approximately the plane of the pivotal mounting means to the end of the socket remote from said mounting means in a direction toward the front surface of the socket so that when the socket is in lamp engaging position the back surface thereof from below the pivotal mounting means will be spaced from the rigid unyielding surface and said back surface will approach into proximate relationship with said rigid unyielding surface when the socket moves from lamp engaging to lamp disengaging position.

3. A lamp socket as set forth in claim 2 Wherein the portion of the back surface of the socket above the pivotal mounting means is approximately perpendicular to the axis of the lamp running from end to end thereof.

4. A lamp socket as set forth in claim 2, wherein the axis of free pivotal movement is shiftable towards and away from the lamp.

5. A lamp socket for mounting on a support member a lamp having at least one contact pin at each end thereof, said socket having at least one recess to receive a pin at one end of the lamp, said recess extending inwardly of said socket from the front surface thereof which is adapted to face the lamp, a contact member carried by said socket and disposed so as to engage a pin in said recess, means to mount said socket for free pivotal movement on said support member so that said recess can be swung toward and away from said pin, the axis of free pivotal movement being shiftable toward and away from the lamp, and means to resiliently bias said socket toward said lamp, said recess being remote of the axis of pivotal movement of said socket and on the side thereof on which the lamp is disposed.

6. A lamp holder comprising'a base, a pair of sockets carried by the base in back to back relationship, each socket being adapted to be used for mounting on said base a lamp having at least one contact pin at each end thereof, each socket having at least one recess to receive a pin at one end of its associated lamp, said recesses extending inwardly of each socket from the front surface thereof which is adapted to face the lamp, a contact member carried by each socket and disposed so as to engage a pin in said recess, means to mount each socket for free pivotal movement on said base so that said recesses can be swung toward and away from said pins, and means to resiliently bias each socket toward its associated lamp, each recess being remote of the axis of pivotal movement of its socket and on the side thereof on which the associated lamp is disposed, the back surface of each socket sloping toward the associated lamp so as to enable either socket to swing away from its associated lamp before the swinging movement of the socket is limited by abutment of the back surface of said socket against the other socket.

CHARLES E. DANSEREAU.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,283,454 Osterloo May 19, 1942 2,296,114 Mueller et a1 Sept. 15, 1942 2,221,402 Kurtzon Nov. 12, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 659,201 Germany Apr. 27, 1938 

